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[Tyeforce]

I have a couple questions about the game that I've been unable to find answers for. I've read the whole OP and searched Google, but no luck, so I guess I'll ask here:

1. Do all of your recruitable characters gain experience even if they're not currently in your party, like how it was in the original Xenoblade Chronicles? I'm trying to figure out if it would be a waste for me to replace Elma and Lin with others in my party for awhile... I'd like to use some other characters, but not if it means I'll be robbing Elma and Lin of experience, since they'll probably be required for most story missions...

2. When a character leaves your party, what happens to any gear you've equipped to them? Does it go back to your inventory, or do they keep it? I've been using the "Equip Strongest Gear" option on other characters, but I want to know if I should make sure to remove the gear from characters that I take out of my party so that gear can be used on other party members.

 

[Sable~Knight]

? i thought Xenoblade 1 had a good "open world" obviously not on the typical meaning, but enough to feel like its huge, with tons of exploration, and that was on the Wii.

Xenoblade U adds many systems poorly explained, its certainly more complex, but complex is not always better.

Although overall the combat seems a bit improved, thats very important.

I meant more in terms of game structure. Xenoblade Wii, despite having very open areas was still very much a linear game. Essentially, you went down a hallway towards the next cutscene, and went cutscene to cutscene through each hallway. The hallways were VERY wide, and open, and the side quest structure meant you could distract yourself and then just come back to the next cutscene when you felt like it.

With the open-world structure of Xenoblade X you really don't go cutscene to cutscene at all, instead the world changes and shifts dynamically from triggering main story quests, to affinity quests etc. There are different triggers in the world, whether people, actions, locations etc that then drive cutscenes, but those cutscenes also aren't organized into one long sequential chain like they were in Xenoblade Wii. In this you have many different threads interwoven, overlapping, and sometimes completely optional. You can choose to pursue a certain storyline right now, or after 5 more main chapters.

Structuring the game is such a way and still having a progressing story is very challenging just because of the nature of how they're triggered and interwoven. In Xenoblade they controlled exactly how the cutscenes played out, how you experienced the vast majority of the game. You couldn't progress until you hit the next cutscene. In short the entire game revolved around the story, as told through a very tailored sequence of cutscenes.

In Xenoblade X the exploration drives the game, even the story is tied into exploration in ways, but it's also kind of independent in a way. You can play the way you want by pursuing what interests you. The structure of the story is not very well tailored in this case, so the storytelling experience is very different. Then there's important stories that are being told through optional quest lines, so will you experience them? Miss them? How do you piece all these quests and different storylines together to still feel cohesive and progressive (and not random) and give them meaning, while still giving the player the option to play in whatever order they want to, to pursue whatever they want? It's definitely a challenge, and very different way of organizing the game at a fundamental level, when you're developing and putting all the pieces together.

 

[Shadow Broker]

Wife is watching 50 Shades of Grey on TV so I'm on the Gamepad, how do I access the probe map so I can change out probes and fast travel?

 

[massoluk]

I have a couple questions about the game that I've been unable to find answers for. I've read the whole OP and searched Google, but no luck, so I guess I'll ask here:

1. Do all of your recruitable characters gain experience even if they're not currently in your party, like how it was in the original Xenoblade Chronicles? I'm trying to figure out if it would be a waste for me to replace Elma and Lin with others in my party for awhile... I'd like to use some other characters, but not if it means I'll be robbing Elma and Lin of experience, since they'll probably be required for most story missions...

2. When a character leaves your party, what happens to any gear you've equipped to them? Does it go back to your inventory, or do they keep it? I've been using the "Equip Strongest Gear" option on other characters, but I want to know if I should make sure to remove the gear from characters that I take out of my party so that gear can be used on other party members.

You can assume the worst. They don't level up without you and they keep the equipment. But I never bothered anyway, plenty of gears to go around.

 

[Wiseblade]

So I decided to sell off some weapons and armour I'd outgrown because it was just making navigating the equipment screens more of a hassle than it needed to be. Selling weapons was easy enough. But armour? NOPE. Not trying that again, not without a way to exclude starter gear and items made for cosmetic purposes. I don't need that kind of stress in my life.

 

[Soul Lab]

short question:

what is triggering ranged combo?
Is it triggered when I use a ranged arte and then I use any arte right after it?

lol I can't start Foggy Dilemma. It's buggy.
It says Accept "Backup Request" I did that and tried it again. Still declined.
"Backup Request" guided me to another affinity quest. I did that quest.
Now Backup Request is done and I'm sitting here with unfinished Foggy Dilemma

yes I'm pissed

bumps cause thread is moving too fast.
anyone other got that bug I mentioned?

 

[ivysaur12]

Okay, I did the thing again where I targeted an enemy and the camera centered on the enemy as I moved. But I keep pressing every damn button combination I can think of, and I can't figure out how to do it again. Ugh.

 

[Klyka]

Okay, I did the thing again where I targeted an enemy and the camera centered on the enemy as I moved. But I keep pressing every damn button combination I can think of, and I can't figure out how to do it again. Ugh.

You press "L" to lock target as it says on the control prompts on the right.
Which you probably disabled.

 

[Dineren]

Okay, I did the thing again where I targeted an enemy and the camera centered on the enemy as I moved. But I keep pressing every damn button combination I can think of, and I can't figure out how to do it again. Ugh.

Should be ZL when you have the enemy targeted. I was doing it last night and I'm pretty sure that was it.

 

[aravuus]

Here's my list of things that suck and some ways they could approve the game with them, somethings I took from what people already said but elaborated on a bit more:

While I still love the game and, like I've mentioned before, it's still so far my favorite game this gen, it's hard to disagree with any of these. Maaaaybe disagree on getting skells later being a bad thing, I mean, you could probably speed through the first 6 chapters in 10-15 hours if you just want the skell.

But yeah, otherwise these are complaints I also have with the game.

 

[Alcoholikaust]

Wife is watching 50 Shades of Grey on TV so I'm on the Gamepad, how do I access the probe map so I can change out probes and fast travel?

touch screen-go back to tv mode (pad becomes map)

 

[Matt Attack]

I just started progressing as a partisan eagle, hoping to be an astral crusader.

Sniper rifles are cool and all, but do they get...stronger? Partisan eagles claim their all about range, but I find that my javelin attacks do decidedly more damage.

I actually just hit rank 10 on Astral Crusader, and yes, they absolutely get stronger. The auto attacks are still pretty weak for me, but there are some excellent arts. Make sure to use afterburner when you get it (I think it comes from Lao's first affinity quest?), it's ridiculously powerful and super satisfying.

 

[Alrus]

Here's my list of things that suck and some ways they could approve the game with them, somethings I took from what people already said but elaborated on a bit more:

- Lower the HP of most monsters (Almost every monster is a bullet sponge and it's ridiculous. It's okay for some of the larger monsters to be bullet sponge, but for a little monster at my level taking up to 3 minutes just to kill. That's just nonsense.)

- Co-Op Play (The game could at least allowed you to play the game with one other person. The loose online capabilities in this game don't make the game anymore fun, I'd love to actually interact and have fun playing this game with friends.)

- Ability to Buy Probes (There such an important part of the game in order to complete tasks, get the most important resource in the game, and a lot of quests revolve around needs certain ones. To get them now is to hope to get them through RNG, their needs to be a better way to attain these, even offering only lvl 1 probes helps.)

- In Game Character Customization (I would be nice to change my hair style, face, or skin color later in the game. Especially after chapter 5 when you realize it could had been possible while staying true to the world's story.)

I agree with a few of your points (although they don't really impair my ability to enjoy the game) but :

-Monsters aren't bullet sponge, you're doing something wrong. Don't spam your abilities as soon as they're up to take advantage of the secondary CDs (they're a HUGE boost to your dmg), check the combos available to your class, don't fail button prompts. Most monsters, even much higher lvl ones, go down pretty damn fast.

-Co-op play is present, they are online squad missions available at some point, but this game is mainly meant to be played solo and most people seem to not care about doing them right now.

-I've never run into an issue with probes, just make sure to collect treasures while you're out in the world and you'll have plenty. Research probes are rarer but I think it's actually meant to be that way.

-You'll be able to customize and redo your entire characters after chapter 6 iirc.

 

[JimPanzer]

Just got my smell after 25 hours. How do I switch its color?

 

[R.D.Blax]

bumps cause thread is moving too fast.
anyone other got that bug I mentioned?

There is two back up request actually, so you need to wait for the other back up request to show up on the mission board

 

[Freeman76]

Honey moon phase? Sounds completely accurate for most people right now, I never had one. I've been annoyed and bothered by every single flaw in this game. Hell the flaws are even preventing me from enjoying the good parts of the game as well.

Here's my list of things that suck and some ways they could approve the game with them, somethings I took from what people already said but elaborated on a bit more:

- Forced Party Members (Other possible party members have become under-leveled, not to mention this keeps the gameplay the same with very little options to change it up. Why should I bother putting L on my team? Elma and Lin need to be on my team 24/7 because they're needed for practically every quest ever. Combat is so boring because you simply can't change it up.)
- EXP for members not on your team (Pull a Final Fantasy 13 or Pokemon, keep underplayed characters equally leveled via exp share. If the game is so hell bent on having you keep Elma and Lin as your main team. At least allow my other characters to be properly leveled for when I do actually get to use one of them.)
- Skippable dialogue without skipping the entire spoken scene
- Reserve Members / Swap Interface (There's a stinking slot for it and it's only used when forcibly adding characters to your party during quests, how about actually letting me not be forced to find my party members scattered around the city, or to save a friend's characters I'm paying for a set amount of time in the slot?)
- Not having to use Elma and Lin all the damn time (they can still appear in cutscenes like Tatsu!)
- Reduce Affinity requirements. (Or just remove Affinity in general, or better yet make it more like Persona's Social Link and actually have you talk and bond with your characters without any requirements to do so beforehand.)
- Able to edit Sound/Music via Settings (Obnoxiously loud song being played during a cutscene? How about trying to actually hear a song during a fight but your character's screams are too loud to hear the actual song. Being able to tweak these options would be great.)
- Skells come in too late (By time you have a Skell, about 3/4's of every region you've been at has been discovered. The time wasted traveling the world is huge, about hours worth of time. There can still be a skell's vehicle form available, just keep it in vehicle form only until chapter 6 when you get an actual Skell that does battle.)
- Ditch the License Quests for the Skell in general (IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE. Yeah, why can't it be for game purposes? You make me go through stupid quests that have nothing do with owning a Skell. None of them are fun, meaningful, or have a point, they're just another chore to do. Or at least just offer, you know, an actual exam that teaches you how to use a Skell.)
- Tie Survey Rates to your Division (Actually give them a reason to exist. Do I want to explore unexplored areas and plant drones instead of fighting Tyrants? Give me the damm option, don't force me to do everything, I completely understand now why there was only offered 1 save file in other regions.)
- Better Rewards/Exp for quests (Seriously, there is practically no rewards or exp at all for most quests, why should I bother doing any of them?)
- Lower the HP of most monsters (Almost every monster is a bullet sponge and it's ridiculous. It's okay for some of the larger monsters to be bullet sponge, but for a little monster at my level taking up to 3 minutes just to kill. That's just nonsense.)
- Actually profit for selling items (Almost all the monster drops sell for little then 100 credits, take note that most similar weapons/armor in the store sell for 100 times that. It's not even worth the time to clean out your inventory with all the weapons and armor you picked up.)
- Speed up fights (A lot of RPG games offer this feature, it's no Auto attack button, but I feel like half the time I'm waiting for my skills to charge up so I can do any damage whatsoever. Allow me to press a button to increase the speed of the fight by twice, but able to toggle it on and off in battle.)
- Co-Op Play (The game could at least allowed you to play the game with one other person. The loose online capabilities in this game don't make the game anymore fun, I'd love to actually interact and have fun playing this game with friends.)
- Ability to Buy Probes (There such an important part of the game in order to complete tasks, get the most important resource in the game, and a lot of quests revolve around needs certain ones. To get them now is to hope to get them through RNG, their needs to be a better way to attain these, even offering only lvl 1 probes helps.)
- In Game Character Customization (I would be nice to change my hair style, face, or skin color later in the game. Especially after chapter 5 when you realize it could had been possible while staying true to the world's story.)

This game has so many levels of bullshit and it sucks. I just wish they could had made many of these changes before it's Western release. I'm still debating whether I should just go and trade this game in now (Meijer stores are offering double trade in value, so I'll get my $50 back from buying this game.) There's no way in hell I'll ever replay this game again, if I ever consider picking this game back up again I'm immediately selling it when I'm done with it.

Its obviously not for you man. Trade it in and buy something you enjoy. All you seem to do is post the shit you dislike, its pointless.

 

[Soul Lab]

There is two back up request actually, so you need to wait for the other back up request to show up on the mission board

ah ok. thanks a bunch dude. It's very confusing

 

[patrickthehedgehog]

- In Game Character Customization (I would be nice to change my hair style, face, or skin color later in the game. Especially after chapter 5 when you realize it could had been possible while staying true to the world's story.)

You can do this after completing House of Cards quest.

 

[MrPanic]

bumps cause thread is moving too fast.
anyone other got that bug I mentioned?

I believe it's using that art after a ranged art yes. You should notice it works by the critical graphic around the damage number.

I believe there are multiple Backup Request missions, so maybe you'll have to wait till the right one pops up.

 

[Shadow Broker]

touch screen-go back to tv mode (pad becomes map)

Simple, obvious yet so brilliant I didn't think of it. Thanks.

 

[Wiseblade]

I mean, you could probably speed through the first 6 chapters in 10-15 hours if you just want the skell

This is NEVER going to happen on a first playthrough. And even if you knew exactly what you're doing, you would still need to get lucky with item drops to facilitate that. Getting a Skell is a commitment, no two ways about it.

 

[Formless]

Is there a way to see individual area names on the Gamepad? Only a few show up.

 

[Shun]

I just got the flight unit. I can't jump anymore :[

 

[Neoweee]

This is NEVER going to happen on a first playthrough. And even if you knew exactly what you're doing, you would still need to get lucky with item drops to facilitate that. Getting a Skell is a commitment, no two ways about it.

Getting a Skell some time into the game works well. The world feels better when you spend time running around it, then later come back and stomp over it.

Honestly, I'd prefer you had to at least do a bit in Sylvium before getting your Skell.

 

[cand]

Nope, I like it quite a bit. I actually ordered the soundtrack from Japan.

Thank you, I find all the hate around the soundtrack very weird...

 

[KratosEnergyDrink]

Here's my list of things that suck and some ways they could approve the game with them...

Seems you get very aroused about some minor points in the game. But please mark spoilers as spoilers, even when you are upset.

 

[aravuus]

This is NEVER going to happen on a first playthrough. And even if you knew exactly what you're doing, you would still need to get lucky with item drops to facilitate that. Getting a Skell is a commitment, no two ways about it.

Didn't someone in this very thread get his skell in less than 16 hours? But yeah, you're probably right

I quite like how you get it midway through the main story and not immediately. The skell license quest was dumb as hell tho.

 

[BlackJace]

I actually just hit rank 10 on Astral Crusader, and yes, they absolutely get stronger. The auto attacks are still pretty weak for me, but there are some excellent arts. Make sure to use afterburner when you get it (I think it comes from Lao's first affinity quest?), it's ridiculously powerful and super satisfying.

Thanks! I suppose it just takes a lot of work.

 

[Neoweee]

NOTE: Half of the Arms Manufacturers are unlocked from Normal Mission chains. Those should be the ones completed ASAP, IMO.

You can do this after completing House of Cards quest.

And where is the thing you need to get for that?

 

[NA48]

I forgot that camera was a thing. How do you activate it? 30-something hours in and I still haven't done that lol...

R+dUp.

It's the best for taking those dank screenshots ...

 

[razgriz417]

I just started progressing as a partisan eagle, hoping to be an astral crusader.

Sniper rifles are cool and all, but do they get...stronger? Partisan eagles claim their all about range, but I find that my javelin attacks do decidedly more damage.

I'm at astral crusader rank 3 now, and imo, not really, my ranged attack is like 176 and while I can get like 4k crits using shrapnel on a limb but yeah while snipers look cool, I think I may go to a faster firing weapon once i max it out

 

[StarStabbedMoon]

I just started progressing as a partisan eagle, hoping to be an astral crusader.

Sniper rifles are cool and all, but do they get...stronger? Partisan eagles claim their all about range, but I find that my javelin attacks do decidedly more damage.

sniper rifles get stronger relative to other sniper rifles, but melee weapons are intended to do more damage than ranged weapons in general. they also gain more aggro, so it's a balance.

 

[saveweyard]

snip

I think you're not fully grasping the combat if you think it's slow and that enemies are bullet sponges.

I get some of your non-combat complaints but they aren't as bothersome to me. I still get into a nice little flow of going to town, collecting my party members and quests, and then going out on these little episodic adventures in this huge world.

 

[desu]

Honey moon phase? Sounds completely accurate for most people right now, I never had one. I've been annoyed and bothered by every single flaw in this game. Hell the flaws are even preventing me from enjoying the good parts of the game as well.

This game has so many levels of bullshit and it sucks.

So basically you have been hating the game with every post made this topic?

I feel you are kind of at the opposite side of the honey moon people. You've been "hating" on the smallest issues throughout the game (some of the things of you list are absolutely valid complaints, quite a few simply seem to be related to you just not "understanding" the game, some stuff that you thought was missing is actually present in the game).

So yeah, apparently this game is just not for (and wasn't from the first second juding by your posts).

 

[Sable~Knight]

Thank you, I find all the hate around the soundtrack very weird...

I think it has absolutely fantastic, varied, breathtaking and exhilarating music at it's high points. It's low points are divisive, but even those I think fit the 'feel' or atmosphere well, even if they do become annoying over time.

 

[R.D.Blax]

-Monsters aren't bullet sponge, you're doing something wrong. Don't spam your abilities as soon as they're up to take advantage of the secondary CDs (they're a HUGE boost to your dmg), check the combos available to your class, don't fail button prompts. Most monsters, even much higher lvl ones, go down pretty damn fast.

Where can we check for te combo we can do ?

 

[Wiseblade]

Getting a Skell some time into the game works well. The world feels better when you spend time running around it, then later come back and stomp over it.

Honestly, I'd prefer you had to at least do a bit in Sylvium before getting your Skell.

as someone who SWAM to Sylvium and ran to Cauldros: HELL NO. It's crazy the game even presents that as a legitimate option in Hope's recruitment mission. To expect that of people would be offensive.

 

[boiled goose]

I can't understand the like for Xenoblade over this. It's so much, much better than Xenoblade that it's not funny.

I even think the music is mostly better. The only music i've disliked in XCX so far is the sudden battle music when you're spotted by an enemy, and it only lasts like a minute.

I consider xenoblade the better game but it's not better in every way. Just in a few meaningful ways.

The battle system has more depth in X but is more varied in XB. Playing as Sharla is completely different than playing as Reyn or playing as Shulk. Additionally party composition leads to very different playstyles.

The story and characters in XB are great. Setting, music, and visuals are spectacular.

All good in X too, but they are different.

X feels like a military spreading out into this alien world. XB has a more nostalgic yet hopeful feel as you explore this mysterious world through the characters eyes.

 

[Tyeforce]

You can assume the worst. They don't level up without you and they keep the equipment. But I never bothered anyway, plenty of gears to go around.

Ugh, really? Damn... ._.

 

[Grampasso]

Yeah all of the little annoying things about the game are starting to annoy the shit out of me. If it were just one or two I could definitely power through it but there are just so many terrible QOL decisions that make the game far more of a chore than it should be. It doesn't help that most of the content consists of garbage fetch quests with mostly uninteresting stories tied behind him. The game DOES have an amazing overworld (arguably the best ever) and a fantastic combat system but that's not really enough anymore. I'm probably going to shelve the game once I get my Skell.

I wonder why they didn't at least patch the party swap mechanics. That shouldn't be difficult at all

 

[boiled goose]

I wonder why they didn't at least patch the party swap mechanics. That shouldn't be difficult at all

No party swap.
No nice list.
And sucky map. Text, but no icon.

It's a triple whammy of fail.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

From roomate (lvl 40+) : "do normal missions with them, is the quickest way I found. I did 10 normal quests with 3 new character and I already have 2 hearts with them"

thanks for the heads up. I might just do that.

 

[desu]

I wonder why they didn't at least patch the party swap mechanics. That shouldn't be difficult at all

Its not hard to implement, but the game was finished for the japanese release and then Monolith moved on to their next project (lets hope for an improved NX remaster).

 

[Wiseblade]

I have to agree that the different classes don't feel as diverse as the characters in XC. Skell combat feels different from ground battles for sure, but that's still less diversity than the playstyles in XC. Where's my Melia class?

 

[Freeman76]

Is there a good guide for classes? Im a bit inept at this stuff, i always find these systems bewildering. Im looking to play ranged primarily, im a rank 7 gunner.

Is the idea to level all of them up? Or stick with one?

 

[Basileus777]

All you seem to do is post the shit you dislike, its pointless.

That's the purpose of an OT, it's not meant to be an insular circle jerk.

 

[The Elite]

I don't mind the exploration on foot at all right now. Just about to do Chapter 6 and only recently visited Sylvium and haven't touched Cauldros.

 

[borghe]

soo.... waiting for secondary and tertiary cooldowns is priority? including ignoring early soul voices to do so?

That's the purpose of an OT, it's not meant to be an insular circle jerk.

I don't think anyone expects that.. but the contribution to this thread is essentially "I don't like this game I don't like this game I don't like this game". I mean most people at a certain point stop playing games they don't like.

 

[Matt Attack]

Ugh, really? Damn... ._.

It's honestly ridiculous that in a game with so many party members, inactive members don't even get a little experience (even the original XC did this). I'm trying to keep most characters leveled up evenly (except for the player character who obviously will be higher leveled), but there are enough characters that I just can't justify leveling all of them.

 

[ivysaur12]

You press "L" to lock target as it says on the control prompts on the right.
Which you probably disabled.

Hmm. Thanks.